On September 5, 1963, ladies whose husbands were members of the Freed-Hardeman College Board of Trustees and Advisory Board met for the purpose of planning a women’s organization to help support and encourage Christian education at Freed-Hardeman College in Henderson, Tennessee. Mrs. Neal Penny of Milan, Tennessee presided at the meeting and was elected the first president.
In late 1963 and early 1964, chapters of the Freed-Hardeman Associates were organized in west Tennessee and Kentucky, and north Alabama and Mississippi.
National presidents during the Associates first 40 years have been Mrs. Neal Penny, Mrs. Kenneth Woods, Mrs. Warren Griffin, Mrs. H. A. Dixon, Mrs. W. A Bradfield, Mrs. Glen Harris, Mrs. Robert Taylor, Mrs. August Ruff, Mrs. J. A. Thornton, Mrs. Willard Alls, Mrs. Henry Dodd, Mrs. Lawrence Taylor, Mrs. Fran Davis, Mrs. Garry Martin, Mrs. Earl Edwards, Mrs. Ronnie Southall, and Mrs. Milton R. Sewell.